Fountain of the Turtles

Situated in Piazza Mattei, the Fountain of the Turtles is one of Rome’s most beloved public watering-holes (quite literally). Small in comparison to the grander fountains that can be seen in and around the city, the Fountain of the Turtles (called in Italian, Fontana Delle Tartarughe - try saying that twice!) has a surprisingly interesting history. Planned as the first ever personally maintained and financed fountain within the city in 1580 (aqueduct lines were strictly regulated and illegally tampering of the cities water supply was a crime which yielded severe consequence - a code which carried over from the Classical period when the punishment for polluting the water source to the city was death), Muzio Mattei had an aqueduct line re-routed from a location several meters away to his own namesake piazza, where his family kept several palazzo’s around the square’s circumference. As a result, Mattei was personally responsible for the cost of the project, the maintenance of the quality of the water and the commissioning of the sculptor to design an appropriate fountain.While many hands had played a role in the construction of the Fountain of Turtles, it is important to note that turtles in fact, had no place in the original design. Conceived by the important fountain architect, Giacomo della Porta and the Florentine sculptor, Taddeo Landini, the 1581 plan had originally proposed four dolphins crowing the upper vasque of the work. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of the bronze procured for these dolphins and the low flow of the Acqua Vergine -the water source of the fountain - the Mattei were forced to leave the pinnacle details incomplete. Only through an order or restoration called for by Pope Alexander VII in either 1658 or 1659, did the fountain finally receive four little bronze turtles to complete its decoration.A favourite with visitors to the hotels in Rome, the Fountain of the Turtles is a playful monument to the necessary source of water. An element for cleaning, consumption and growth, guests of the Rome hotels will find the water still remarkably clean - even considering the aqueduct piping dates back to the first century after Christ!